(WWJ) — Two dozen turtles have been released back into their natural habitat after being rescued from the path of a Consumers Energy project.
When construction began on Consumers’ Mid-Michigan Pipeline Project, the utility and wildlife experts removed dozens of turtles and 24 turtle eggs from the path construction project, which runs more than 50 miles from Chelsea to Ovid.
Late last month, several children of Consumers Energy employees joined the turtle release in rural Ingham County as they were set free in wetlands.
The turtles came from eggs of adult females who were carefully removed from the pipeline path. The eggs were then incubated and nurtured by the Chelsea-based Herpetological Resource and Management (HRM), with help from Sea Life Michigan Aquarium.
Last fall Consumers released 56 turtles who were originally rescued during the project.
“It’s become something of a tradition for us at Consumers Energy to release turtles back into the wild each year, and we’re proud to do our part to preserve them as part of our commitment to sustainable construction practices,” Brandon Hofmeister of Consumers Energy said, per a press release. “We’re conscious of our role in protecting Michigan’s wildlife and are committed to efforts like this because we know it’s right for our customers, the communities we serve and the planet.”
The Mid-Michigan Pipeline Project is modernizing the state’s natural gas system by replacing 55 miles of transmission pipeline in Washtenaw, Livingston, Ingham, Shiawassee and Clinton counties. The two-phase, $550 million project will help the utility “move natural gas more quickly, safely and efficiently.”
The first phase was completed in 2023 and construction on the second phase is set for 2024.
Blanding’s turtles are a protected species in Michigan. While they can live more than 80 years, they also have a maturity period of 15 to 20 years, which makes them particularly vulnerable to predators.
Consumers has worked with HRM since 2009 to protect and manage wetland wildlife along the path of its construction projects. Consumers says over the course of two years on the Saginaw Trail Pipeline, they saved more than 30 Blanding’s Turtle eggs before returning mature juveniles to the habitat after construction was completed and rescued/relocated nearly 30,000 amphibians and reptiles out of the construction pathway.